In Zen there must be satori; there must be a general mental upheaval which destroys the old accumulations of intellection and lays down the foundation for a new life.

The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.

The practice of mindfulness is simply to bring awareness to what we are doing, what we are saying, and what we are thinking.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

When we see the nature of the mind, we see that we are not our thoughts.

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

The mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.

Start from where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

The path is the goal. Every step of the journey is the journey.

The key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech.

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

The path to liberation is a gradual path of self-discipline, self-development, and self-transformation.

Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

Understanding at the intellectual level is not enough. There must be experience at the actual level.

The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.